Surrey mayor being recruited as star federal candidate?

Speculation rife that Prime Minister has big plans for Dianne Watts

Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts has not committed to running for another term, fuelling speculation that she could be recruited by Prime Minister Stephen Harper as a star federal candidate in the 2015 federal election. And a local seat has conveniently opened up for Watts due to the recent announcement by low-profile MP Russ Hiebert that he will vacate the South Surrey-White Rock-Cloverdale riding.

Photograph by: Ward Perrin
, PNG

Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts has not committed to running for another term, fuelling speculation that she could be recruited by Prime Minister Stephen Harper as a star federal candidate in the 2015 federal election.

And a local seat has conveniently opened up for Watts due to the recent announcement by low-profile MP Russ Hiebert that he will vacate the South Surrey-White Rock-Cloverdale riding.

Watts would not confirm nor deny she would seek the federal nomination, insisting she is “committed to Surrey and that is my focus now.”

But several signs suggest she is considering a move to Ottawa, with at least one of her councillors jockeying for the mayor’s seat and Steve Casson, former campaign chairman for Surrey First Electors Society, joining the Conservatives’ federal riding executive in South Surrey-White Rock.

Watts, first elected mayor in 2005, has also stated that she would only serve three terms — or nine years — as mayor. She confirmed that this week, but was coy on her future intentions.

“If I decide to do something differently you will be the first to know,” she said.

Watts can afford to wait on a final decision because the Surrey First party is entirely under her control, according to the party rules. And she is so wildly popular that nobody would likely beat her even if she waited until the last minute — she has until 36 days before the Nov. 14 civic elections — to announce she is running for mayor again.

A recent poll, for instance, suggests Watts has a 73-per-cent approval rating in her city, while in 2010 she was named one of the world’s best mayors for her aggressive steps to modernize Surrey. She was also once tipped as a potential candidate to replace former Liberal premier Gordon Campbell.

“I would presume she’s being courted by more than one party making inroads to get high-profile interest like that,” said Patrick Smith, a political-science professor at Simon Fraser University. “The fact she’s not ruling it out though means she is in.

“She could wait and still be courted but the question that will be asked is, ‘If you are elected mayor, will you serve your term?’ It’d be hard to imagine her not getting elected wherever she ran in Surrey but there’s a bunch of things that would kind of hang in the balance.”

Hiebert’s departure after 10 years opens the door for Surrey to have a heavier hitter in federal Parliament, though only if Harper reverses polling trends for most of the past 12 months, which have vaulted Liberal leader Justin Trudeau into the lead.

If Watts were to win a seat federally, it could potentially give her even more influence in her fight for scarce federal funding dollars for Surrey’s light rail project. But Smith notes she could be hindered in her efforts if she was relegated to the backbenches rather than given a cabinet seat.

Watts, a champion of light rail for Surrey, has appealed directly to the federal government for $1.8 billion in funding to build three light rail lines, prompting Vancouver to make a similar plea for a subway line along the Broadway corridor.

“You would think someone that high profile would be thinking of a cabinet seat but it’s not a given,” Smith said, noting Alan Tonks, head of Metro Toronto and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, was convinced to run for the Liberals but then languished on the backbenches. “In a sense, perhaps she could do more by staying here.”

Surrey Coun. Tom Gill agreed there is no guarantee that Ottawa would give Watts more power, noting the municipal level is one of the biggest catalysts for change.

“Under her leadership, we could certainly continue on our path of success,” he said. “If I were to have a wish, I would wish that things would continue as is.”

Casson did not return a request for interview by press time, and Watts declined to comment on why he would move to the federal executive, saying: “You have ask him.”

Nor did she respond to questions on a potential mayors’ race. Under the Surrey First constitution, the society, which includes all council members as directors, will have to agree on a new successor.

Longtime Coun. Linda Hepner has made it known she is eyeing the mayor’s chair, a move that Coun. Barbara Steele said she would support 100 per cent. Hepner was on holidays and couldn’t be reached.

“Linda is interested if things decide to go that way ... she would certainly have my support and she knows that,” Steele said, but added: “It’s safe to say nobody is actively pursuing it at this point because we have a mayor, but rumours abound. You kind of have it in the back of the mind; you need to be prepared.”

Steele said if Watts does decide not to run again, she would likely announce it sooner rather than later.

“She cares about the city. I just don’t think she is going to jeopardize keeping Surrey First or Surrey moving ahead the way it’s going. I don’t even know that she’d run again anywhere if she decided not to,” she said. “There’s always plenty of opportunity for a woman like Dianne. She’s very, very smart and a good leader and she pursues some stuff some of us wouldn’t dream of.”

Watts’s pedigree contrasts with Hiebert’s low-profile approach during his decade in Parliament.

As a barely-known newcomer with no roots in the riding, he won Surrey-White Rock-Cloverdale in 2004 by taking 43 per cent of the vote.

Hiebert, a member of the large evangelical Christian wing of the federal caucus, had difficult relations with the local media — who took potshots at him after his retirement announcement last month — and has even alienated his federal colleagues.

The transgression that landed him in the most hot water with Harper, and Surrey constituents, was a $637,093-expense tab for the 2008-09 year — more than $200,000 above the Canadian average.

His other claim to fame was a private member’s bill that infuriated Canada’s labour movement, as it sought to force unions to disclose financial transactions both large and relatively small.

It passed in the House of Commons but stalled in the Senate due to opposition by a number of senators who portrayed it as a “union-busting” initiative.

Hiebert, a 45-year-old lawyer, is giving up a $160,200 salary to “pursue opportunities in the private sector,” he said in a statement last month.

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Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts has not committed to running for another term, fuelling speculation that she could be recruited by Prime Minister Stephen Harper as a star federal candidate in the 2015 federal election. And a local seat has conveniently opened up for Watts due to the recent announcement by low-profile MP Russ Hiebert that he will vacate the South Surrey-White Rock-Cloverdale riding.

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